I am still working on improving my manual focus skill with my Olympus camera. In this picture, I was trying to focus on the butterfly, but turns out I got an absolutely crisp image of the opening zinnia that is just above and to the right of where I was trying to focus. I’ll keep trying…
I saw this guy up in one of our oaks out back – 20 minutes later, he was still there. Those squirrel-resistant bird feeders must be tiring him out.
Yesterday, our resident mom & dad Bewick’s wrens started building a second nest! In a different house than this season’s first brood. I’m pretty sure this is the same mom & dad, since I’ve been watching them tending to and feeding their babies at the same time that they are building the new nest. I’m just amazed at how hard this pair of birds have been working over the last 6 weeks or so. I was surprised to see this behavior, but found this website whose explanation of their nesting behavior helped me learn a bit more about this lovely bird.
I can’t wait to watch the next round of babies make their way into our backyard.
Lots of things to be thankful for this Easter season.
Happy Easter!
And one pink.
I caught a goldfinch checking out her reflection in one of the birdbaths out back. How cute is that? 🙂
An update from the garden…our sunflowers are beginning to bloom! We planted some from seed, but this one is a volunteer from one of the bird feeders.
A few weeks back I posted about a Bewick’s wren couple building a nest in the birdhouse that I hung under the eaves of my house. Since then, I have been watching the birdhouse closely. For the last two weeks or so, I have seen the wrens flying back and forth, to and from the house, feeding babies. Those wren parents were delivering bugs every few minutes from sunrise to sunset! Amazing. I listened to the baby wrens chirp each time the parents brought food. I watched them feed the babies. I watched the parents take away the fecal sacs each time. I watched as the babies started looking out the hole of the birdhouse. It was like an episode of PBS Nature show right outside my window. 🙂
Today I sat 10 feet from the birdhouse outside and watched the baby wrens fledge! I saw four of them fly out, there may have been more. I hope they come back to nest next spring under the eaves, too. I thought I recorded a video of it, but apparently I don’t know how to use the video mode of my camera yet. Oh well, it was very cool to see it happen. I’m so excited that I was able to watch them, especially since we spent the entire weekend on the lake. And Monte and I had just returned to the house after running an errand. Five minutes later they were all out of the birdhouse.
So cute!
From earlier this morning:
Seconds before the first one flew out:
One of the babies, right after his first flight:
If you hang around Central Texans long enough, you will learn that we are fond of bestowing our own pronunciation on the names of some of our favorite local places; confounding out-of-towners, I’m sure.
One of those place names is “Pedernales” – the name of a river, a series of water falls, and a state park. Take note: locals refer to it as “per-din-al-iss.”
Whether or not you can say it right, you must go see all three. I took a day trip and visited Pedernales Falls State Park today. I enjoyed visiting their bird blind, walking down to the Falls, scoping out birds while hiking, doing a little geocaching, and taking in the beautiful scenery on a gorgeous day.
The falls from the scenic vantage point above:
We have a new rain barrel out back. Just in time for today’s rain. Installed yesterday, and today it’s full! Fyi, City of Austin offers modest rebates for rain water harvesting devices. Check it out if you are interested, or see if your city offers something similar.
Ok, it’s not really painted, but a photo that I morphed with an iPhone app called Brushstroke. The poppies came back this year out back. I love their deep red. Hoping for even more next year!
I discovered a lovely park, right off Loop 360 and Spicewood Springs Road. The trail head for the Irving and Hazeline Smith Memorial Trail is on the northwest corner of the intersection. You can park right nearby. It’s an easy, flat, 1.5 mile loop through woods, grassland and near the creek. No dogs permitted, though.
I had an unexpected morning free, so I headed to the Bull Creek Preserve again to go explore the trails. Note that entrance to the the Preserve is restricted between March and July each year. You’ll need to apply for an entry permit to enter during those months. Today my goal was to catch a glimpse of the endangered golden-cheek warbler that nests in the preserve after migrating here in early March from Central America. I went out on Monday and had a great 3 hour hike, and heard their calls everywhere, but I didn’t see the little bird – they were very elusive.
Today, I tried some different trails in the Preserve, and I finally saw several of them! Next, I pulled out my camera to try to get a decent shot. I took many more than these few photos, but together they might give you an idea of how hard it is to get a good shot. Most of these won’t look like much unless you can zoom in on them…
I saw one sitting on the power line. Right. Above. My. Head. But, by the time I got the camera up and focused, zoooom, he was gone. See the little bullet-shaped bird with a yellow head exiting the frame on the right?
A while later… I saw one in a shrub about 30 feet away! See him in the center of the frame? But, darnit, he wasn’t facing me.
And then… zoooom, he took flight. See the little yellow headed torpedo coming toward the camera? 
Then several miles and about 2 hours later…. one popped out of a cedar branch at eye level about 10 feet away! He even posed for a minute. I got several shots. This is the clearest. Success! I’ll be back for more, though. :)
Sheila365 